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Dallas, it's time to rejoice! We now have a good ramen shop. Yaaaaassss!! Just last week, the Las Vegas ramen shop, Monta Ramen, has officially opened. Now, I've never been to Monta in Vegas, but I've always heard good things about it. Plus, I've had Japanese food in Vegas (off the strip) and they have some legit Japanese food. I was very excited when I found out they were opening a location here.
Monta Ramen
800 North Coit Rd, Ste 2550B
Richardson, TX 75080
(469) 333-7777
www.montaramen.com
Price: $$
We went on Saturday, 2 days after they opened, for a late lunch. We arrived at 1:30PM and there was a fairly long line out front. I wrote our names down on the list and counted 7 groups ahead of us. On the wait list, you can indicate if you want to sit at a table or at the bar. I put both so we can potentially get in faster. The wait wasn't super long.. I'd guess about 20-25 minutes, but their waiting room had no AC... only a small fan. It was pretty damn hot.
Finally, it was our turn. Our group of 3 were seated at the bar. It was a pretty small space. Maybe 7-8 seats at the bar and about 10 or so tables of 2 in the entire space. It looked like there was a small section of the dining area not yet being utilized... maybe they'll open that up in the future. It can probably fit another 2 tables of four.
We've already been studying the menu while waiting. I wanted to try everything. This is the first time I see a menu at the ramen place in Dallas that reminded me of the restaurants in LA. They offered the same items as many LA ramen shops. Several different types of ramen broth, fried rice, and various appetizers. And guess what, the prices match LA as well! All the ramen were under $10. Now that's what I'm talking about. Ramen is NOT supposed to be ridiculously expensive. But it seems like the trend it's been taking since it's considered a "novelty" in Dallas?! Places like Ten Ramen and Wabi House where, after you add a few toppings, becomes like a $18 bowl of noodles. That's just crazy to me. You don't even need to pay over $10 for a bowl of amazing ramen in Japan!
Anyways, we decided to order a whole bunch of stuff. Whatever we don't finish is going to be leftovers for dinner. :P
Gyoza (handmade pan-fried pork and vegetable dumplings) $5.95~
These looked good. They had a nice sear on the bottom. Unfortunately, the meat inside was quite dry. I could see that it was dry when I look at it too. Flavor is not bad. They might wanna tweak their filling recipe a little.
Takana Fried Rice (mustard leaf, onions, green onions, egg, chopped chashu pork with rice) $6.95~
This is one of my favorites when I go to a ramen place in LA. Shin-Sen-Gumi makes a great takana fried rice. I like their fried rice better than their ramen. haha. Monta's was pretty good. Not LA caliber but a good fried rice still. The chunks of chashu was a little dry but overall I enjoyed it.
Chashu Bowl (slices of grilled chashu prok served over rice with green onions) Reg. $5.75~
First of all, TOTALLY did NOT look like the picture on their menu. hahaha. :( The slices were no where as impressive looking. However, the pork we did get was super tender and moist. The flavors were good too. The rice texture was nice and chewy. Maybe just a bit more pork on top would make this a good side dish, or even main dish.
Chashu Buns (steamed buns filled with chashu pork, served with Monta's original spicy bun sauce) $5.95~
My fiance really wanted these, I was on the fence since I saw a pic of them and it looked pretty sad. And they were kinda pathetic looking... Kinda flat, with a piece of iceberg lettuce sticking out. But guess what? This was the best appetizer we got. The buns were steamed perfectly fluffy. The pork was super tender and the flavors were just right. I mean... they could've put more pork, but the amount that was in there was definitely enough for the buns to meat ratio. And the lettuce added a touch of freshness. Thumbs up.
Hiyashi Chuka Cold Noodle (pork chashu, egg, cucumber, bean sprout, kikurage (woodear mushroom), and tomato. Choice of sesame or yuzu sauce) $9.50~
I got this. I've had cold ramen in the past and I've always loved it. I've always preferred dry noodles to broth since I'm not much of a soup person in general. And cold noodles are so refreshing on a hot day. This was loaded with toppings. They certainly didn't skimp on anything. The sesame sauce was good. It had a slight tang to it. It wasn't as good as the one I had in Taiwan...but then again, nothing is as good here as in Taiwan. :P The noodle texture was spot on, nice and chewy. I liked it a lot. And my fiance loved it. haha.
Kuro Ramen Black Garlic (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $8.95~
I told my fiance to get this. I also told him to get it with the thicker noodles. It normally comes with thin. He loved it. He couldn't decide if he liked this or the cold noodles better. hehe. This is the first time I've seen black garlic ramen in Dallas. I liked it a lot when I had it in NYC and Japan. This was delicious! The broth had a ton of flavor, but it wasn't too salty. We did notice half way through that it didn't come with an egg. But to add an egg is $1.50, cheaper than all the other ramen places. It does have TWO pieces of chashu though, and the meat was super tender. The thicker noodles were the same as in my cold noodles. Cooked perfectly chewy, it makes all the difference. I find the thin ones don't have enough texture and usually ruins the whole bowl for me. Personal preference... but try the thick noodles vs the thin and decide for yourself. So the ramen is good!! Definitely closest thing to ramen I've had in LA. Will definitely be back to have this again!
My friend got the Tonkotsu Ramen (pork broth, two slices of pork chashu, kikurage (woodear mushrooms), bamboo shoots, green onion) $7.95~
Normally comes with thin noodles, my friend requested thick noodles. She loved it. The broth also had a lot of flavor without being overly salty. Which seems to be a struggle for most other places in Dallas. Salt does NOT equal flavor, people!
Great first experience. They have a few kinks they need to work out with the appetizers. So I'll be back in a few weeks to test them out again. The waitresses were all very nice. And I noticed the majority, if not all, of the staff were Japanese, which is a very good sign. I also heard that they are under the same owners as Mr. Max in Irving, which is a fantastic hidden gem for Japanese food. The only big complaint was the AC... remember how I said the waiting area was too hot? The dining room barely had AC at all too. I was so glad I got cold noodles. haha.
Soooo happy the Dallas ramen scene is finally on the map now, with a place that has good ramen and reasonable prices. :) AND a great location! Yay!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
Before we headed to the airport that Sunday, we met up with 2 of my sister's friends for lunch. We chose another ramen place we've never been to.
Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
891 Baker St. B21
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 557-2947
http://ramenbannai.com/
Price: $$
This is a pretty small place and they don't take reservations. So we made sure we had extra time to wait in line. There were already many other groups waiting outside when we got there. I think we waited about 25-30 minutes total? The weather outside was nice so it wasn't a big deal.
We got some appetizers to start.
Gyoza (pan fried; with yuzu chili pepper paste) $3.80~ Perfectly crispy on the bottom. And it came with Kosho on the side. It's this condiment made with yuzu and chili peppers so it's got a kick to it! Tasty!
Spicy Rice (steamed rice mixed with housemade umami chili) $2~ I saw this on yelp and it just sounded amazing. Umami chili? Uh, yes, please! But it was underwhelming. Not spicy, and not particularly "umami" either.
Juicy Fried Chicken (marinated with house special sauce) $3~ This. Was. Amazing. Beautifully fried, and the meat inside was soooo juicy. It came with this peanuty sauce which was an interesting, and good, compliment. I can eat this chicken forever!!!
I was talking about the different types of ramen to the guys before we ordered... broth ramen, tsukemen (dipping ramen), mazemen (dry ramen), etc... And they were really interested in trying the dipping ramen.
So 3 of us ordered the Tsukemen (Dipping Ramen) with the Cold Noodle (dashi shoyu base, radish shoot, Japanese mustard spinach, bean sprouts, carrots, chashu, lime, grated radish and ginger, ground sesame seeds) $8.50~
It was a huge portion! And since this is a different style than we've normally had, I've never tried noodles like these before.
From their website: The noodle of Kitakana ramen is flat, wide, and curly. It contains the highest amount of water among ramen noodles. Noodles are hand crumpled to have distinctive curliness and texture. The soup is light in color yet full of flavor and not oily.
The noodles were fantastic. They certainly did have the crumpled look and it felt homemade. And the broth was light but full of flavor and not in the least bit greasy! I couldn't finish all my noodles cuz the portion was so big. The 2 guys absolutely loved it.
My sister got the Green Chili Shio Ramen (pork broth, shio base, Toro chashu, green chili, nappa, garlic, Asian chives, red onion, green onion) $8.50~
OMG. This is sooooo good. Different than any ramen we've ever had before. The broth was light in color but just packed with flavor!! It had a spicy kick to it from the green chili. I was just shocked at the amount of flavor but yet was so light. My sister said she thought this was better than Santouka... And you know what... I almost have to agree! So interesting, and oh so good. I highly highly recommend this if you can take spicy.
So... first time having Kitakana style ramen. Love it!! And the prices were super reasonable. We got more than enough food for everyone. I guarantee we'll be back next time we're in town.
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How was everyone's Valentine's Day? Ours was filled with some great food! :)
We started the day with lunch at Densetsu. My fiance had to take his car in for maintenance (so romantic, right? haha) so I picked him up and went to lunch.
Densetsu
4152 W Spring Creek Pkwy.
Plano, TX 75093
(972) 964-7874
http://www.densetsurestaurant.com
Price (for lunch): $$
We love this place. The food is always fresh...and HUGE! I had to remind him not to order too much stuff cuz their portions are so big.
He got his usual Miso Black Cod Bento Box (black cod with house miso marinade) $10.95~
Seriously good deal. If you look on their appetizers, just the miso cod alone is like $10. So their lunch menu is da bomb. And just a quick tip...they have lunch specials everyday! Not just weekdays! Soft buttery fish, with a nice salad and gyoza (fried dumplings) on the side. Yum!
I wanted some sushi so I settled on the Rainbow Roll (6 different kinds of fresh fish on top of california roll) $13.95~
It's one of my favorite rolls in general so I knew it was a safe bet. It was even bigger than I expected. haha. One was more than enough, I'm glad we didn't get any more food! Stuffed to the brim with crab and topped with fresh sashimi. Each roll is like a 2 biter at least. Definitely filled me up.
Great lunch. We sat outside in their covered patio. It was such a nice day!! One of the only nice days we've had this month really.. And even though we were outside, our waitress was still very attentive and checked on us often. :) It was just enough food. We didn't over stuff ourselves since we had dinner coming up in a few hours!
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
This past weekend I was in Vancouver with my family and relatives for my cousin's wedding. Super excited to be back in Vancouver. The last time I was there was at least over 10 years ago... I get to see all my relatives PLUS the Chinese food is spectacular!
This will be a 3 part post. There's wayyy too much food to fit into one. All we did was eat! (What else is new... hahaha)
Snacks and Fast Eats:
Pearl Castle
3779 Sexsmith Rd, Ste 1128
Richmond, BC V6X 3Z9
(604) 270-3939
We went there the last time we visited Vancouver. It was still very brand new at the time. Now it's become a popular bubble tea and Taiwanese food destinations for many people. It was still as good as I remembered from 10 years ago!
Fluffy Cream Thick Toast (with toasted almond slices on top) $3.50~ I LOVE THICK TOAST. I dream about this stuff... Something about the fluffy toast with different spreads on top. Asian breads are so awesome. This did not disappoint! Fabulous!
Bubble Tea (milk tea with tapioca balls). Very authentic. Reminds me of Taiwan.
Green Tea Latte. This was awesome. Even better than the milk tea. I wish I had time to go back and get another.
Beef Noodle Soup. Nice thick noodles. Good flavor. Better than anything we can get here in Dallas...
Spicy Fried Rice. Eh... not the greatest.
Fried Pork Chop. Taiwanese style...one of my favorite foods of all time. The flavors were pretty good.
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Chicco Japanese Dessert Cafe
1504 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC
(604) 633-1286
One of my cousins found this place and told us about it. He said they had epic parfaits. Sounds interesting...had to check it out. Super cute and small place. They had pictures on the walls... everything looked awesome. And their cakes and ice cream displays just made me drool. haha. Really pricey tho. Definitely need to experience but probably can't frequent often. haha.
Black Sesame Parfait (black sesame and vanilla gelato, green tea macaron, red bean, green tea jelly, sponge cake, rice cake, green tea sable, green tea stick, cornflakes and whipped cream) $7.75~
The black sesame ice cream was freaking amazing. It was a pretty epic parfait. The top half was the better half. I would've preferred them layer some of the cream thoughout. By the time we reach the bottom, it was pretty dry... And don't knock the cornflakes. Simple but genius. Added the crunch texture and nuttiness. The macaron was no good tho. Everything else was yummy. The ice cream and mochi in particular.
Green Tea Parfait (green tea and vanilla gelato, green tea mousse cake, green tea jelly, sponge cake, rice cake, green tea stick, cornflakes and whipped cream) $7.75~ Also pretty awesome.
Mango Strawberry Parfait $7.75~ I can't eat mango so I didn't get to try, but all my cousins said the mango ice cream was spectacular.
Green Tea Cake $4.75~ SUPER cute!!!! Not as epic as the parfaits but still good.
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Thierry 1059 Alberni Street
Vancouver, BC V6Z 2V6, Canada
(604) 608-6870
www.thierrychocolates.com
I met up with a friend of mine that I haven't seen in over 5 years. He drove up from Seattle. He totally recommended this place. So we went right after parfaits! hahaha. The cakes and chocolates and pastries looked amazing. Of course we had to try some.
Chocolate Trio Cake (white, milk, dark chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge) $5.75~ The best pick of the bunch. Perfect textures on the mousse. Super velvety, rich, decadent but yet still light.
Tiramisu Cake (mascarpone sabayon, coffee/kahlua soak). Fluffy cream, really light. The dark chocolate squares around the sides were not too sweet and paired really well with the cake.
Raspberry Tart (almond crust, lime, local raspberries) $4.75~ Fresh, but super tart. I had difficulty eating this one. I don't like too sour.
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Kim Wonton Mein Saga
8788 McKim Way, #1180
Richmond, BC V6X4E2
(604) 270-6632
This is a Cantonese style noodle shop. The name is kinda funny haha. But totally legit. The flavors are all authentic.
Braised Beef Brisket/Tendon/Wonton Noodle Soup $5.95~ Yummy!
Thousand Year Egg and Shredded Pork Congee $4.85~ This was my favorite. It had really good flavor. So comforting on a cold day.
Sauteed Water Spinach $13.95~ Super expensive, but then again they gave us triple the normal portion at other restaurants. haha.
Singaporean Rice Noodles. Slightly different flavors than I'm used to but still good.
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Motomachi Shokudo
740 Denman Street
Vancouver, BC V6G 2L5, Canada
(604) 609-0310
My cousins wanted to take us to Kintaro Ramen but there was a long line and it was really cold out. So we went half a block down to Motomachi. It was also supposed to be really good. Cute decor. Very small and crammed...but it provides the appropriate ramen eating atmosphere. hehe.
Spicy Miso Ramen with Organic Chicken (chicken, cabbage, lotus roots, carrot, bean sprouts, spinach, chinese chive, onion, snow peas, bamboo shoots, angel-haired Japanese leek, green onion, corn, olive oil, sesame oil, chili sauce) $9.65~ This wasn't really spicy. It had a lot of veggies though, which I liked. But the massive amount of veggies overwhelmed the noodles. The chicken was pretty good but there's not very much of it. It was aight...
Bamboo-Charcoal Dark Miso Ramen (angel-haired Japanese leek, bamboo shoots, soft-boiled local organic egg, green onion, BBQ pork, thinly sliced chili pepper, white pepper, seasonal green vegetable, chili pepper powder) $9.75~ The broth had a lot of flavor. Quite salty though.. Actually all of them were very salty. I felt the need to drink a lot of water after the meal. The pork was nice and tender and fatty. And the eggs were cooked well.
Nama-Shoyu Ramen $8.95~ Pretty standard shoyu ramen.
Butchigirin Gyoza $3.75~ Tasted like Chinese potstickers. haha. But it had a good crisp on the skin.
The food was ok. Not the best ramen I've had for sure, but wasn't terrible. Maybe we should've waited in line at Kintaro...
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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